Raleigh Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Exclusive first shots of Expedition 10B

Tuesday, 9 February 2010

Exclusive first shots of Expedition 10B

Katie and Logcita visited Alpha 3 today to do a food drop at Barbilla Ranger Station - here are the first actual project shots of the expedition.

7 comments:

Nigel Havens10 February 2010 at 03:35
Veronie Havens Alpha 3, hi Tiggy, caught - eating Chocolate and no shoes on what will your mother say! Your group looks great and hope you are all getting on fine.Like all the friends and family we eagerly await the blogs and images which give us a really good feel for what everyone is up to. Trevor been putting me through my paces in the Gym, might even be fit enough to do a Raleigh trek... perhaps not! Be positive,keep smiling and your sense of humour, support each other in the inevitable down moments and you will achieve your goal that will last a lifetime. Go Alpha 3 Go! With all our love Ma and Pa
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Anit Mistry10 February 2010 at 05:18
Urmi Mistry Alpha 3

Ola Dude,
I am so glad to see that you are doing well and have found the chocolate all the way over there, have they supplied you with your favorite Buttons? ;-) anyway, it looks like you are having an amazing time and putting all your new kit to good use! I hope you are coping well with the flies and the bugs and have you come across any snakes yet?

We are all missing you at home and send us some sunshine as its due to snow again. Also i went to bracelona over the weekend and saw Barcelona play.... its not as good as United and i did feel like i had cheated on Fergie by being there but worth it none the less ;) Also Tinuben had a little boy on the 8th Feb and weighed in at 4lb's 10oz, so he's teeny tiny and once again you are a big sis :)

Love you lots and have fun, take care

Bhai,Mum&Dad x x
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Amelia Vyvyan10 February 2010 at 09:49
Isabella Vyvyan Alpha 3 Hi Izzy - good to see a piccie of you alive and well! Dad wants to know why the man from Right said Fred is there too?
Snowing here - again (getting boring now!!) but not as deep as before. Granny sends her love and wants to know if your feet are ok!! Hope your 'craic' is as high as always and youre a happy bunny and keeping everyone laughing with your lightning reactions! lots of love and good luck with the bridge thing that was on yesterdays blog photos - rather you than me - hebden swing bridge gives me the heebie geebies! big kisses and hugs, M x
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Banita Meets Mount Everest!12 February 2010 at 02:42
Urrrmiiii!

blik!! These photos are so exciting! Keep up the good work. Looks like you're having an awesome time. (am so happy there are photos!!)

You missed the snow. bet you're well gutted ;)

love love
Banita xx
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Anonymous12 February 2010 at 02:44
Urrmiii!

blick!! Wow- photos look amazing! Keep up the good work! Looks like you're having :)

Also- you missed the snow. Bet you're well gutted ;)

lovelove
Banita xx
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Emma Wright12 February 2010 at 11:28
Hi Daisy baby,

how are you my darling, sounds like your having the best time and getting stuck in in true Daisy style, keep in touch my darling, stay safe and send lots of pics home, all good here and promise wont rent your room out. love you lotsxxxx
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Davyejones@aol.com22 February 2010 at 06:38
To Sir James Wilderspin Alpha 3
message4
Hello again James, this is the day you arrive at the Pacific coast after a long hard treck.
You will have seen so much on you travel and we look forward to seeing photos from you in time as well as the Blog loaded ones which have been marvellous. G Jean and I both well and G Dot now recuperating at Swan House,saw her sat 20th she looked fine.Your dad visiiting her tomorrow 23rd Feb.
Enjoy the bliss of a relaxing day on the coast and that yearned for swim and maybe a hot shower.Looking forward to details of your next project .Take care and continue to enjoy..love from G Jean and Pappy
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Raleigh Lingo

Copy that?

Sometimes our Raleigh technical terms can be a tad confusing so we've put together a glossary for you blog followers. This will appear as a quick-reference section on the right-hand column so you can translate our Tico-terms into something a bit more palatable. And for those keen to brush up their Central American Spanish, we've included some handy translations. Here's a few to get you started...

Alpha, X-Ray and Zulu groups
(Grupos Alfa, X-Ray y Zulu)
The official name for project groups during the phases of CR&N 13A. Alpha will be out on project from 3rd to 23rd February, X-Ray from 24th February to 15th March and Zulu from 17th March to 5th April. Project groups are allocated during induction

Basha
Jungle ‘bed’: consists of a tarpaulin for shelter, a hammock and mosquito net. A basha is hung up between two trees and supported by rope, bamboo and canvas straps

Bodega
A Spanish word meaning store or warehouse

Bravo
A term of endearment for our hard-working Land Rovers. The four vehicles are officially, and imaginatively named Bravo One, Two, Three and Four

C.A.T.I.E.
The agricultural and development research institute on whose campus Fieldbase is situated. Find out more at http://www.catie.ac.cr/

Changeover (Cambio de Fase)
Two day period where all staff and Venturers return from their project sites for some respite before they are all reallocated and sent off to do it all over again...

Chicas, Chicos
Spanish term meaning girls (chicas) or guys (chicos) or both (chicos aswell). As in “Vamonos chicos!” or “Let’s go guys!”

Craic
A way to gauge how people are feeling, usually measured from 0 to 90. If your ‘craic’ is high, you’re pretty happy. If you announce a low craic, people will probably fix you up with an energy bomb and a nice big hug

CR&N 13A
Costa Rica and Nicaragua expeditions 13A

Day Leader (DL) (Líder del día)
Every day on project, one of the Team is designated DL – they are in charge of the day, including organising the day’s briefing, keeping group morale up, dealing with any problems, sticking to schedule and de-briefing at the end of the day. The DL role rotates round the whole group so everyone takes a turn

Energizer (Actividad Levanta Muertos)
An activity to gather the group together and raise energy levels. Can be used at the beginning of the day, or whenever a quick pick-me-up is required

Energy bombs (Explosión de azucar)
A trekking treat – mix together oats, raisins, condensed milk and chocolate powder and roll into little balls of gooey goodness to power you through the day

Fieldbase (FB) (Campo Base)
Refers to the Raleigh ‘office residence’ which is where the Fieldbase staff eat, sleep and work, whilst organising the expedition, manning the radios round the clock, supporting the projects, planning transport and logistics, keeping tabs on the finances and much, much more

Field Base Volunteer Managers (Equipo Logístico Voluntario del Campo Base)
Volunteer support staff for the expedition. The team looks after the ‘behind the scenes’ of the expedition and ensures everything runs smoothly. This consists of three permanent staff members - the Country Director, Country Project Manager and Country Expedition Manager - plus a team of volunteer staff including the, Medic, Photographer, Administrator, Finance Officer, three Logistics (logs) team members and the Communications Officer

Gallo Pinto
A traditional Costa Rican dish of rice and beans (yum!)

Icebreaker (Rompe Hielos)
A getting-to-know-you game

Longdrop (Letrina)
The camp loo. Literally a deep hole in the ground, it is one of the first tasks to complete when setting up jungle camp for obvious reasons! Short drops are similar, normally used for overnight stops when a shallower trench will suffice

Longs (Pantalones)
From 6pm onwards, we all don long trousers and sleeves to discourage the bugs that aren’t deterred by DEET

Maxis
Short for Maxi Pali, the stock-everything shop about a kilometer from Fieldbase where you can buy all those things you forgot/ran out of/lost

Nicas
An affectionate term referring to the native population of Nicaragua

Ninja
A popular game/energizer used by venturers and Project managers alike. Everyone stands in a circle and tries to hit the team members either side of them on the hand via a single ninja movements. Sound effects welcome

POPS
Legendary milkshake and ice-cream parlour chain found all over Costa Rica – perfect for a sweet splurge

Pork and beans (Frijoles con cerdo)
Another staple foodstuff for trekkers: tinned beans with a slightly sausage twang, served cold for lunch. Usually accompanied by dry cracker dust, sprinkled liberally on to the top. If you’re in a hurry, this can be consumed without cutlery straight from the can

Project Managers (PMs) (Guías)
Project staff for the expedition. Each of the groups has at least two PMs who work with the Venturers to develop skills, lead projects and challenge themselves

PURA VIDA!
A very special Costa Rican phrase that means hello, goodbye, I’m great, it’s good, pure life, basically any positive, feel-good thing can be Pura vida!

Radio check (Chequeo de Radio)
As well as a daily SITREP, all Alpha projects are required to complete a second radio call-in each day to check in, receive messages and report any developments

Review (Revisión)
A round-up that assesses how everyone feels, what went well and what needs work. This is sometimes an ‘activity’, sometimes a chat around the campfire, or sometimes just a bit of time to reflect. It’s an important part of everyone’s personal development so we make sure it happens every day

Roadtrip (Paseo Volando Rueda)
The logistics team and some of the Field Base team drive the Bravos on a loop round to each of the accessible project sites once per phase. They deliver kit, supplies, site visitors, messages from the blog and of course the all important post

Ropa Americana
Purveyors of the finest second hand American threads. Perfect for fancy dress/obtaining that long coveted college sports jersey

SITREP (Reporte de la Situación)
Literally Situation Report. A special radio message sent from the satellite project sites back to fieldbase once a day. It follows a certain format and includes all sort of handy information like where they are, what they’ve been up to, what they need and what they’re planning to do next

Tang
A fruity powder that is used to make squash. Jolly useful for taking away the chlorine taste of purified water

Ticos
An affectionate term referring to the native population of Costa Rica

Trangia (Mini Cocina)
A portable cooking stove. Used primarily for trekking, a trangia’s compact design makes it perfect for easy transportation. Literal translation in spanish - mini kitchen. Makes sense

Turrialba
The location of Fieldbase

Venturers (Aventureros)
Participants in the Raleigh expedition. Aged 17 to 24, they come in three varieties: Host Country Venturers (from Costa Rica and Nicaragua), Partnership Venturers (positive young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the UK who participate in Raleigh expeditions as part of a longer term development programme) and UK and International Fundraising Participants (who work hard to raise money to contribute towards the charities work and expenses in order to take part in the expedition)

Wash up (Revisión Final)
The last few days of expedition, spent debriefing, returning equipment, performing skits, and most importantly enjoying the farewell party (tears alert)

Zero (Cero)
A radio term that identifies the radio controller at Fieldbase. Fieldbase monitors the radios 24-7, listening out on three frequencies for calls from our satellite project sites. When the radio alarm sounds, we might answer something like this: “Hello unknown call sign, hello unknown call sign, this is Zero, this is zero, do you copy, OVER?”